Blue Farm Wines

Anne Moller-Racke’s Pinot Noirs represent the diversity of Sonoma County’s winegrowing regions.

A small winery with an impressive pedigree, Blue Farm Wines produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from vineyards throughout Sonoma County. These vineyards include the Anne Katherina Vineyard on the small Carneros District estate of winery owner Anne Moller-Racke. 

Vineyard, Mountain Views

A longtime winegrower and until 2019 the president of The Donum Estate, a winery she founded in 2000, Moller-Racke is known for meticulous farming techniques. Private tastings of her wines take place about 3 miles south of Sonoma Plaza in a vineyard’s-edge greenhouse set amid a rose garden with more than a hundred species. To the east lie the Mayacamas Mountains, which separate the Sonoma and Napa valleys.

Winegrower Anne Moller-Racke is known for meticulous farming techniques. (Photo courtesy of Blue Farm Wines.)

Restraint, Vivacity 

Not surprisingly, the other vineyards in the Blue Farm universe are farmed as precisely as Anne Katherina. From late spring to late summer, tastings might include a rosé of Pinot Noir made from Sonoma Coast grapes. Typical of Blue Farm’s entire lineup, it displays Old World restraint without undercutting the vivacity of its California fruit. A Chardonnay from Laceroni Vineyard (Russian River Valley AVA) has a pleasing mouthfeel but not at the expense of acidity and minerality.

One of dozens of rose species on Anne Moller-Racke’s Sonoma property.

Mission Revealed

Blue Farm’s several Pinot Noirs reveal Moller-Racke’s mission most fully. Her wines are based on rigorous farming of vineyards chosen for their combination of terroir (soil, climate, and other conditions) and clones (variants of Pinot Noir). “Site determines quality, clone offers personality,” read one wine’s tasting notes. Weather is another key element of a particular vintage.

Vineyard and Mayacamas views.

Estate Pinots

Fruit from the estate Anne Katherina Vineyard goes into three of the Pinots. One wine is named for the vineyard, another for the Farmhouse Block of grapes that grow close to Moller-Racke’s circa-1880 Folk Victorian residence and 19th-century pump house. The fruit for a third wine, Riverbed, comes from a vineyard section where alluvial soils predominate. The Sonoma Valley property of Moller-Racke’s business partner, Timothy Mott, supplies the grapes for the fourth estate Pinot, 1861. Before joining the world of wine, Mott cofounded the interactive entertainment software company Electronic Arts.

The grapes for the Anne Katherina Pinot Noir grow in sight of Blue Farm’s pump house.

“Made in the Vineyard”

Tastings usually include at least one estate Pinot Noir and one or two from the other sources, Laceroni, Gap’s Crown (Petaluma Gap), and King Ridge Vineyard (Fort Ross–Seaview). Because the wines are “made in the vineyard,” with the approach in the cellar generally hands-off, they tend to express their sites well and, as a group, represent the diversity of Sonoma County Pinot Noir. 

Tip: Blue Farm tastings take place on weekdays only. It’s best to request an appointment at least 48 hours in advance.

Why go: vineyard and mountain views; Pinot Noirs “made in the vineyard.”

Itinerary

Blue Farm Wines appears in Sonoma Pinot Noir Day Trip.

Info 

San Luis Rd., Sonoma 95476


Dining Suggestions

Sonoma Restaurants Cheat Sheet

More About Sonoma County

Sonoma County Basics
Sonoma County Vineyard Walks

This story originally appeared online in 2017; it was fact-checked and updated in 2023. Lead photo by Sam Zide and Roland Bello for Blue Farm Wines.

1 thought on “Blue Farm Wines”

  1. Pingback: Sonoma Restaurants Cheat Sheet – Daniel Mangin

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top